Friday, September 11, 2015

11 September
2015 A.D. Jewel’s “Apology” on Lord’s Supper—Bishop of Rome
opposes Gelasius, Ambrose, Augustine, Gelasius, Theodoret, Chrysostom, and
Origen: “The bread and wine in the Sacraments remain still the same they were
before;” “The thing which is seen upon the Holy Table is bread;” “There ceaseth
not to be still the substance of bread, and nature of wine;” “The substance and
nature of bread are not changed;” “The self-same bread, as touching the
material substance, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy:”
pp.55-56

Behold these are the horrible heresies, for the
which, a good part of the world is at this day condemned by the Bishop of Rome;
and yet were never heard to plead their cause. He should have commenced
his suit rather against Christ, against the Apostles, and against the holy
fathers. For these things did not only proceed from them, but were also
appointed by them: except perhaps these men will say (as I think they will
indeed), that Christ never instituted the Holy Communion to be divided amongst
the faithful; or that Christ’s Apostles and the ancient fathers said private
masses in every corner of the temples, now ten, now twenty together in one day:
or that Christ and His Apostles banished all the common people from the
Sacrament of His blood: or that the thing, which they themselves do at this day
everywhere, and do it so as they condemn him for a heretic which doth
otherwise, is not called of Gelasius, their own doctor, plain sacrilege: or
that these be not the very words of Ambrose, Augustine,
Gelasius, Theodoret, Chrysostom, and Origen: “The bread and wine in the
Sacraments remain still the same they were before:” “The thing which is seen
upon the Holy Table is bread;” “There ceaseth not to be still the substance of
bread, and nature of wine;” “The substance and nature of bread are not
changed;” “The self-same bread, as touching the material substance, goeth into
the belly, and is cast out into the privy:” or that Christ, the Apostles, and
holy fathers prayed not in that tongue which the people might understand: or
that Christ hath not performed all things by that one offering which He once
offered: or that the same sacrifice was unperfect, and so now we have need of
another. All these things must they of necessity say, unless perchance
they had rather say thus, that “all law and right is locked up in the treasury
of the Pope’s breast,” and that, as once one of his soothing pages and
claw-backs did not stick to say, “The Pope is able to dispense against the
Apostles;” against a council, and against the canons and rules of the Apostles:
and that he is not bound to stand neither to the examples, nor to the
ordinances, nor to the laws of Christ. We, for our part, have learned
these things of Christ, of the Apostles, of the devout fathers: and do
sincerely, with good faith, teach the people of God the
same. Which thing is the only cause why we at this day are called
heretics of the chief prelates (no doubt) of religion.